The Color Guys

The book is available now — its publication date is today. And the subtitle pretty much says it all: inspiration, ideas, and projects.

The projects are for the most part throws, scarves, and pillows, along with some legwarmers, fingerless gloves, and a hat. The emphasis here is on color, not on design techniques. The book is divided into four sections organized by color inspiration: soft tones, singing color (vibrant brights), moody hues, and rich shades. Each project is beautifully photographed (of course!) and is accompanied by a detailed explanation of the inspiration for the design and the color palette used. There are lots suggestions and tips for using color to make the designs your own.

A couple of the patterns show up in more than one section of the book.

The Opal Dot Scarf above also makes an appearance as the Dark Dot Scarf:

This is a good illustration of how different color palettes can make strikingly different pieces.

I recognize some of the motifs from Kaffe Fassett designs of the past, like this pineapple:

Shown knitted up as a blanket here, I’m pretty sure this was used in a coat in one of his early books. Glorious Knits, perhaps? The yarn used for this blanket is Rowan Colourscape Chunky, a self-striping yarn designed by Kaffe Fassett himself. Using several different colorways of a yarn that has color shifts within each colorway adds more dimension to the piece. Very cool!

The patterns range from very simple (one or two colors) to complex (many many colors), so there’s a little something for everyone. There’s a section in the back with some basic information on colorwork techniques: both fair isle and intarsia.

All in all, this is a great book, both for someone who wants to follow the patterns exactly as written, and someone who’d like to use the patterns as a jumping-off point to explore color.

Who’d like my review copy?

To be entered in the random drawing for this book, leave a comment on this blog post by 11:00am Eastern time on Sunday, February 12, 2012. At that time I will use my WordPress plugin app to randomly select a winner.

Leaving a comment on this blog post is the only way to enter. Do not use the “contact me” link directly below the header — that sends me an email. Do not leave a comment on a different blog post — the plugin app will select only from comments on this entry. The link to enter a comment is right below the title of this post, which is “The Color Guys.”

I got hooked on reading Kaffe Fassett books back in the ’80s. I think they’re a bit like the cookbooks you read instead of cooking from, but I did start a tumbling blocks sweater. I had the front done and a good bit of the back before I broke up with the guy I was knitting it for. It sat in the knitting stuff box for a couple of decades, and I got it out to show someone and the moths had done things to it.

Thanks for the review of Knitting with the Color Guys and for offering up your review copy for this drawing. Your observation about the same pattern appearing in different places, but worked in different colorways was interesting. I also enjoy seeing the dramatic differences that can be had by working with different fibers and yarn weights. Gotta love the diversity!Linda´s last blog post ..Tasty Knits for Valentine’s Day

All graphics, patterns, text, and content on this site are the sole property of Wendy D. JohnsonCopyright (c) 2002-2018 Wendy D. Johnson
Not to be reproduced in any form without written permission from Wendy D. Johnson